There as been a long-felt need for a bracelet linkage which can be provided with a wide selection of design variations yet which is durable and economical to manufacture and assemble.
While Kestenman U.S. Pat. No. 2,136,818 dated Nov. 15, 1938 discloses a bracelet linkage comprising a plurality of hollow box type link assemblies each of which includes an outer member 3, an inner member 12 having a gem or other ornament 11 mounted beneath an opening in the outer member, the gem is supported on the upper edges of the walls of the inner member and each link assembly must be attached to a pair of connecting links 2 by the looped flanges 6 and these flanges are likely to be deformed when the bracelet is worn.
While Lederer U.S. Pat. No. 2,073,280 dated Mar. 9, 1937 discloses a container 11 for holding a photograph, powder pad or rouge pad, one end of the outer member or cover 11 is connected to the bottom or base 15 by a hinge 22 and the other end is detachably connected to the base by the latch finger 27 which passes thru the slot 28 in the base. Furthermore the ears 20 of the base are exposed to view from the top of the assembly so that the base as well as the outer member must be made of precious metal or precious metal containing material. Lederer's container would be very expensive to manufacture and if a series of containers were connected together end to end to form a bracelet linkage, the bracelet would be extremely expensive.
Other prior patents which disclose products which have not met the long-felt need are:
Wendel U.S. Pat. No. 1,556,465 dated Oct. 6, 1925;
Forstner U.S. Pat. No. 1,701,610 dated Feb. 12, 1929;
Selikoff U.S. Pat. No. 1,844,606 dated Feb. 9, 1932;
Santosuosso U.S. Pat. No. 1,854,958 dated Apr. 19, 1932; and
Engel U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,774 dated June 6, 1950.
The above identified prior art is the closest prior art of which we are aware to a bracelet linkage embodying our invention as described and claimed in this application.